Overseas Citizen Voter

In 2008 the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) was passed and former Secretary of State Chris Nelson developed the first system specifically designed for uniformed and overseas voters. This UOCAVA system was named after the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act, which turned a 60 day process into a 24 hour transaction. The UOCAVA system allows all military and overseas voters to submit their absentee ballot application electronically (fax or e-mail). For Federal elections a UOCAVA voter may receive their absentee ballot electronically.

The UOCAVA system was used for the first time in the 2010 general election and continued to be used in the 2012, 2014 and 2016 elections.

If you have questions regarding registering or voting in South Dakota as an overseas
citizen or if you would like the state to mail you a paper voter registration or
absentee ballot application, contact the Secretary of State's Office at (605) 773-3537
or elections@state.sd.us.

Absentee Ballots

An overseas citizen voter may receive an absentee ballot electronically. If you
want to receive your ballot in this manner, mark the e-mail preference in block
5 on your Federal Post Card Application Form (Federal Form Number 76A) or personally
contact your County Election Official by e-mail or phone. You will be notified by
e-mail when your ballot is available to download. If
you do not choose to receive an absentee ballot electronically, your ballot will
be mailed to you.

Overseas citizens voting by absentee ballot must have their ballots received at
their polling location prior to the polls closing. If an absentee ballot is delivered
to a polling place after the polls are closed, the absentee ballot will not be counted
nor opened.